Legend of a dragon's wrath
by Flying ninja
Summary: Enji, a charming rouge, has been running from his past he'd rather forget for many years. now that he's run into it once more will he have the courage to stop running and fight for the hope of tomorrow? or will it be too late?
1. The Usual

_Legend of the Dragon's Wrath_

Ch.1 The Usual

Enji seemed to be your typical rouge. Smart, cunning, charming, and always in trouble. This time was no different. He had wandered into a town called Hoax looking for a place to stay. It was a heavily fortified town, more fortress than town now, with guards posted every where. It was as if they were expecting to get hit by something big.

Enji didn't care though. He didn't look it at the time but he was looking for loot. Where ever there are guards there's something worth stealing. He meandered in and out of all the buildings, looking for anything of value.

Then it happened. He opened the wrong door and saw a mess load of soldiers planning something big. There was a reason that door was locked. Enji tried playing it off like he had just opened the wrong door but he knew he was busted.

He made a break for the main gate and was cut off by the captain of the guard. He looked for any exits but they were all sealed off by one guard or another. He had one of two options. He could use his trump card and fight his way out or he could turn himself in.

Then again, he thought, there's always a third option. He could smooth talk his way out. "Sir, we both know you're waiting for something to attack. So I have a deal for you."

"No deals," he replied, "your punishment will be to help us guard tonight. You'll be free to leave in the morning."

This is perfect. They are going to force him to do exactly what he was planning on making a deal to do. Now was time to sell it. If he could earn enough trust for them to leave him alone during his watch he could escape over night and by the time morning came he would be long gone.

"Actually, I was planning to help you. I'm stronger than I look so I might be able to take a shift all to my lonesome. It would make sure that what ever was going to attack you would be facing as many fully rested soldiers as possible." Enji ventured.

"Oh no, I couldn't leave you all alone out there." He commented sarcastically. "We have another volunteer and a knight of Basil to give you company. I hope you don't mind."

"Not at all." he cheerily replied. Deep down, he was cursing. Cursing the captain, cursing his "company", and cursing his own dumb luck. The only way he could escape now is by beating that punk and that knight. Why was it he always was put in situations like this?

He hoped one of two things. Either those two couldn't fight or what ever was planning on attacking came that night. He was just glad they had been waiting for something at least it wasn't _that_ night.

_A long time ago a child was cornered in the woods by a dragon. The child was too young to fight then but at that moment a woman in purple armor saved his life in it's last death through the lady pulled out a gem, turned around and asked his name as she handed him the gem…_

To be continued…


	2. Battle of Hoax

This, however, was not that night. He had grown older and more powerful since then. His wisdom had grown beyond what most people gained in their entire life time. And now the time had come to prove it.

He was on duty with a man in red armor that called himself Dart and a soldier of the first knighthood of Basil. They were sharing their adventures as watchmen usually did, always ever alert to any oncoming danger. If they had met under different conditions he might have called them comrades.

Dart had started to tell tales of his chase for the Black Monster. He had just returned to his home of Seles and was attacked by a dragon. A warrior in purple armor saved his life. Before Enji could ask any questions the knight cut in.

He introduced himself as Lavitz. The name rang a bell. As Enji thought back, memories of friendship returned to him. Those memories were immediately replaced by the pain of loss. Lavitz went on to tell of his friendship with King Albert. His friendship with Albert reminded him of Servi and his friendship.

But Enji was too busy planning his escape to worry about these kinds of emotions. He was starting to plot how to leave the two unconscious until morning. _Just transform and knock them out. _His mind screamed

_What if they see? It would draw too much attention to me. It's that kind of attention we've been trying to avoid._ He argued. _It would be counter productive. She would find us real quick and I'd have to change my name and go into hiding yet again._

_They won't see. You can transform and hit them before they even have a chance to turn around. Even if they did no one would believe them. They would probably write it off as a trick of the eye._

_No, we'll wait till dawn, if we aren't attacked sooner. _He knew that they wouldn't be so prepared if they weren't sure there was going to be an attack and besides he had all the time in the world.

That's when he realized it. He stone in his pocket began to let off energy. She was near by. It had to be her; she was the only one who has possession of those powers for centuries.

His age old superstition came back to haunt him. The way he sees it, the more your past comes back to you, the more likely something bad will happen. The more extreme the memories the worse the final outcome. And at this rate, it might mean death.

He had now started to run very low on time. He had to think up some way out of there. While he was thinking yet again of escape, he told them the story he had practiced for years, one befitting of his twenty two year old appearance.

The sporting red hair he had pinned him with failure and yet, in his tale, it had bought him instant popularity among his peers. He had no direction to go he turned to thievery. He had run into a lot of trouble over the years but the one thing that never failed him was his scythe.

This tale brought one or both of the following things; pity and respect. People feel sorry for him and his tough life. People also respect that through all of that he still stands tall.

Enji said that he was going to patrol outside the gate. When no one tried to stop him he made his way out the front gate that had once stood in his way and was now his means of escape; how ironic.

As he left he looked at Dart and Lavitz, the fools who had allowed his escape. He was glad that they were so gullible. By the time they realized that he wasn't coming back he could be half way to Lohan. He chuckled at his own cunning.

Suddenly he noticed movement through the bushes. When he stuck his head into the clearing he saw them. The army that Hoax was expecting was larger than Enji had anticipated. Thousands upon thousands of soldiers marching in a neat and orderly manner kept in line by a Giganto.

Enji thought those things were destroyed a long time ago. He hoped that the Giganto didn't know battle tactics. _I have to do something. I'm the only one with the means to stop him. _

_But Rose is back there. Do you really want to have to face her and a Giganto? Think logically for once, if she sees you you're toast but you could just keep running to Lohan and never have to see her or those two guys Dart and Lavitz._

_But I have to go back be cause of them anyway. I promised I wouldn't let that happen again._

_You still want to keep that dumb promise? Face it if you kept it now you would be hurting yourself as well as them._

_I have a promise to keep and the power they'll need to fight off such a massive invasion._ With new found determination, Enji ran back to Hoax faster than any army could hope to move, a tool that was useful in the last war he fought in.

By the time he returned he was surprised to see the Giganto had thought ahead and had sent an advance party. Enji didn't think that it had thought this far ahead. Obviously he had under estimated it and the time had come to prove his worth.

He charged in as he brandished his scythe with skill. As the scythe's blade glinted in the fire light, he recalled his old scythe. The battles it had endured could be forgotten so easily if it had been misplaced. His old friends better have taken good care of it.

He used his blade to knock the spear out of an enemy soldier's hand he tossed it to an injured ally on the ground. He used this moment of shock to use the blunt end of his scythe to knock the wind out of the poor man and struck him subtlety with a water spell which broke a few of his ribs.

It was at that exact moment that Enji remembered the Giganto well on its way to destroy them. He made his way to the front gate to greet it. As he made his way to the entrance he noticed Dart and Lavitz struggling with what he could only assume was one of the enemy's best.

Before he could even think about helping them an enormous hand knocked him clean off his feet. It just about knocked the wind out of him. When he looked up, he saw the Giganto looming over him.

"Get up and fight Kongol with honor," The massive being bellowed.

So, what Enji had heard about Gigantos caring more about honor than winning was true. Enji started to smirk. _This might be the most fun I've had in a long time._ Enji collected himself and answered "I'm Enji and I accept your challenge."

It was right about that moment when Dart and Lavitz had to cut in. Dart dropped down from the steps above and asked "What are you doing back here?" He seemed genuinely surprised at Enji's return.

"We thought you had left," Lavitz shouted down the stairs as he joined them. "Why did you come back?"

It was that moment that possessed Enji to quote, with a smile, the all too familiar promise he had made all those years ago. "I will not stand by and let my comrades suffer and die because I don't have the courage to do what needs to be done."

"Well then, let's do this together." At this, though he hid it well, Enji rolled his eyes. Did this guy really have to be that corny? They were all men about to go into combat and he's being sappy.

Enji charged in using his typical speed and grace. Most people would have been overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer speed of his attack, but Kongol just held up his enormous hand and stopped the attack with ease. As if to drive home this point, Kongol then took the scythe, a mere twig to him, and snapped it clean in two.

Needless to say Enji was shocked by this turn of events. He could always transform and beat the tar out of Kongol, but that would draw way too much attention and would bring Rose in faster than you can say "Crud!" Then again, he could run, but then he would be leaving his allies to die.

It was at this moment he realized that the army had gotten much smaller since the last time he saw it. They might actually be able to fend off this attack. With that thought in mind, he decided it would be best for everyone if he retreated.

In the end, he was glad he did. No sooner had he got behind cover, clutching the two halves of his scythe, had Rose appeared. She was floating in the sky using her dragon wings, flaunting her power to everyone, and awakened the Red Eyed Dragoon in Dart.

Enji was surprised to see someone as inexperienced as that wielding Zieg's dragoon power. With memories of the past burning in the back of his mind, Enji made his way out of town and into the sunrise, the dawn of a new day.

To be continued…


	3. The trip

Though Enji could probably traverse the distance between Hoax and Lohan in a couple of minutes using his powers, he found it more satisfying to walk the distance without such assistance. Without his scythe it would be a bit more difficult but he'd manage.

As he entered the swamplands, Enji began to realize just how much danger he was in. An alligator jumped out of the murk and tried to rip off Enji's arm. His first instinct was to pull out his scythe and show it whose boss but that was nearly impossible without the scythe.

Wait he had some thing in his bag for just such an occasion. He rummaged around for a good five minutes while parked in a tree. The alligator was clawing at the bottom trying to knock the tree down.

He was amazed that he ever found anything in this bag with it so full of potions but he found it. He pulled a Burnout while he wore a triumphant look. This would settle that gator, but then he had to look down.

The gator had gathered a few friends, four to be precise. Now, trapped in a tree with five angry gators hungering for his flesh, he decided the time had come for drastic measures.

He put the Burnout back and pulled out a hunk of meat. This was easier to find considering he always knew where his meat was. He threw it about thirty feet away and to his surprise it bounced into the water and was carried away by the current. As it floated away the gators followed.

Now free from his predicament, Enji decided to keep the Burnout handy. After about five more minutes of rummaging he once again had it in his hand. He was glad he carried so many potions but sometimes it made things so difficult.

He started to make his way to Volcano Villude but a rundown army outpost drew his attention. He heard the clashing of swords as he approached. When he arrived, he was surprised to see the same soldiers that attacked Hoax attacking such an insignificant place with so many soldiers and still struggling with said invasion.

At first Enji thought,_ maybe I should give them a hand_, but then decided against it. If they were too weak to defeat this small facility then it was their bad. When he noticed their leader was there he thought the time had come again for diplomacy. "It seems to me that you guys are having a hard time doing something that should only take a few minutes," he said with a sneer, "For the right price I'll take care of them for you."

"Help would be nice but," the commander suspiciously, "what would be the price?"

"Simple, you get me a scythe to wield and I'll be of as much use as I can."

"We don't have any scythes handy but how about a quarterstaff?"

Enji smiled. Maybe he'd be able to make the journey anyway. "Make it a normal staff and you've got a deal." Enji held out his hand as he did to seal any deal.

The commander simply handed him a staff and said, "Prove your point." Enji liked this guy but hated him at the same time. On the one hand, he was to the point and liked action over words. On the other hand, it's his kind of no nonsense attitude that really got under Enji's skin.

According to his word though, Enji pushed forward through the crowd all the way back to the enemy's commander. If you can kill him, the rest of the army falls apart. He knew when he had found him be cause he was the only face in the crowd of helms.

The man looked as if he had seen a lot of combat and therefore had no reason to wear a helm. His ancient scarred face seemed to intimidate the soldiers that dared to attack him. At this, Enji merely chuckled as he approached the experienced veteran. Finally, a worthy challenge for Enji, It was sad that his opponent, though experienced, was past the prime of his life.

When Enji closed in he announced his arrival to his opponent, it was only fair. When he did so all the soldiers, allied and enemy, stepped away to watch the match. It seemed to Enji that all the fighting around them had stopped and all were watching. The winner of this would be an inspiration to their side and the momentum would shift.

When it began their general had the common courtesy to introduce himself, "I'm Curtis Nell, leader of this knighthood and veteran of many wars, and you are?"

Obviously he didn't make it clear enough on his approach. "I call myself Enji, veteran of many more wars and now reduced to a pick pocket and mercenary, it's a pleasure to meet you. Shall we begin?"

"We shall!" he shouted as he charged toward Enji at a speed that would intimidate most opponents. Too bad for him, Enji had surpassed such a thing years ago. When the general's broadsword came within striking distance Enji merely side stepped it and hit him in the back of the head so hard he could swear he heard the guy's skull crack.

Such a sorry fate for one so experienced but the man would be proud with his death because he fell to a far superior opponent. With the end of that match the battle turned on two fronts. First, the opponents were lost without their leader and second, Enji's allies gained a huge morale boost.

Enji decided to let the rest settle itself out while he took his leave. It was a good thing too because it was at that precise moment he saw Rose, with Dart and Lavitz in tow, arrive on the scene. He knew she had been following him but this was getting ludicrous, he couldn't even finish a battle without her showing up.

He fled the outpost silently and he brought his sorry excuse for a rod with him. He called it such because after one blow to an opponent it already had cracks in it. He couldn't wait until he got his hands on his old scythe.

He continued where he left off, headed toward Volcano Villude, except this time Rose was closing in. He was starting to wonder if the day could get any worse. He knew that whenever he said that, or even thought it, it felt like something had to rub it in his face that it was only the beginning.

He arrived in Volcano Villude after an hour or so long hike. He was glad that he had come this far but it would still take him twenty four hours to traverse this place alone, not to mention the forest right afterward. Armed with only a cruddy stick Enji walked into the valley below.

He came across a few salamanders and thought;_ I can take these flaming overgrown lizards,_ it was only shortly after he had struck that he thought about the facts again but by then it was too late. He had left one important fact out of his victory equation, fire burns wood. When he stuck the staff burned to a cinder.

Now completely unarmed, he did the only thing he could, run. As the clueless warrior ran he remembered something, there was no one around him. He quickly turned and launched a water spell at them. A mist left his hands, but other than that, nothing.

_Great, now I really am defenseless. What do I do now?_ Once again he remembered that he had something in his pack for just such an occasion. He reached into his bag and rummaged as he walked backward and, after about two minutes pulled out a Fatal Blizzard. He threw it at the salamanders and got rid of them.

About three minutes later, while Enji was catching his breath, a fire bird shot up next to him. At that time he lost control of his powers for the first time in years. There was a gut wrenching rip while he was yanked from where he was in the universe and plopped somewhere else.

He had passed out in the process, which is expected when you aren't prepared for it. When he came to he was in a doctor's office. "Where am I?" Enji pondered out loud before getting his response from an unknown source. "Why you're in Lohan, boy. Where else could you be

Enji was lying down on a bed covered with about three layers of sheets. As he looked around he saw an old man sitting in a chair beside him. _Well, at least I got where I needed to go._ "How long have I been out?"

"I would say about an hour. A young woman found you unconscious in the street and brought you here. How did you get all the way to there without anyone seeing you?"

Enji gave an answer that was brilliant in its simplicity. "I walked," he answered matter-of-factly, "How else?

To be continued…


	4. Temple Journey

The doctor seemed to except this idea. Over the next few days the doctor was letting Enji stay at his home. While Enji went around town he was trying to gather intelligence on an old temple that stood near this town. The most he could collect was that there was treasure inside and that it still held up after centuries of wear.

This drew Enji's attention away from any buying and selling he was thinking of doing in the market. If this was the temple he thought it was he had to make his way into it. With thoughts of the location of this temple in his head, he found a nice secluded alley and warped there.

This was so much more pleasant when you were prepared for it. It feels as if you've been gently removed from water and glide through the void with ease. Then when you arrive at your location you dive off a diving board back into existence. With all of the grace of a hippo Enji landed on his face at his destination.

The entrance was worn but Enji recognized it well. This was where he came to unwind during his training. That was long ago but he didn't care. It was as if he had just come home after having gone on with his life to see it just how he left it. He knew if they hid his gear anywhere, it would be here.

As he walked down the all too familiar path to the shrine he walked up to where a ladder should have been but instead the ladder had been raised. When Enji looked around he saw a combination lock, or at least the stone equivalent, was attached to the ladder and was holding it up.

Someone didn't want people getting into the sanctuary. Oh well, that didn't slow Enji down, he merely pushed the ladder up and unhooked it from the mechanism. After that he propped it up against a wall and climbed up. Shortly afterward, he lifted it back up, while he was on the stairs, and reattached it. Why let such a wonderful machine go to waste.

Enji continued on his journey till he came across the stairway leading to the sanctuary. Admittedly, he had come across some resistance from the animals and the original builders could have installed that lock, but Enji knew when he saw the statues had been moved that someone was here and was trying to keep everyone out.

He smiled at this thought. He never would have guessed that anyone would know about it except him, Rose, and his oldest friend, Shirley. He knew Rose couldn't have made it this far without Enji knowing it. So either, some one found his gear and was trying to protect it until they could get it out of there, or Shirley was up there. Either way, Enji was going to get his gear back.

He knew the way the statues had originally been placed and returned them to that position. As he did so he failed to hear the typical click of a trap being disarmed. That didn't inspire confidence in Enji but he advanced up the steps anyway. As he did so, the stairs folded out from under him and turned into a slide.

Needless to say, Enji was more than mad, he was livid. However, Enji was not one to be beat by inanimate objects so easily. He managed to find a foothold against one of the walls and leapt up to the hand rail. At this he casually strolled up it and dropped into the courtyard of the temple.

As he did so he was surprised at how empty it was. After all those traps there was no one here, what a jip. As the started toward the sanctuary a bandit popped out with a knife in his hand. Enji was expecting him to say something like give your cash or I'll hurt you. Instead the little man said "You'll stay away from this temple if you know what's good for you."

Trying to play the part of a lost tourist, Enji said, "Look buddy, I don't want any trouble. I was told to come here by a nice lady."

"I don't remember inviting you here Johi." Enji recognized the voice very well and cringed at the name she used. As he turned around he saw what he could only assume was the specter of his kindest friend, Shirley.

Enji looked at her with an uncomfortable glance before looking at the ground with embarrassment. "I go by Enji now, Shirley. I just wasn't comfortable traveling by the name of a hero that supposedly died a long time ago." He was being truthful. The only reason he came here was to recover his gear.

Almost as if she had read his mind, Shirley said "I have most of you're gear here. I have you're armor, your scythe, even your old bag."

"What about my necklace?" Enji may have been clueless but he wasn't dumb. He still remembered every last thing he left behind.

"I gave that to Rose. I thought it would give you some initiative to face her."

Shirley knew that Enji was going to avoid Rose all the way back then? She was smarter than she pretended to be. Now in order to recover his most prized possession he would have to talk to her about it. _Always the peacekeeper,_ Enji thought with a smile.

That necklace had been precious to him since he was very young. It was the only thing his father had ever given to him. On the ball-chain necklace there was a pocket watch with a picture slot in the front cover. The outside metal had a water ripple design and on the back it had his father's favorite saying, _no matter how big a ripple you cause it'll eventually come to a stop. _

Enji went to the back of the sanctuary. When he came out a few moments later he was wearing his old gear. He had a worn blue leather chest piece with tan leather padding on the elbows and shoulders, worn blue leather pants with tan reinforcing on the knees, tan boots with outer steel toes, and a pair of tan leather gloves, the right of which had a socket where his stone rested. And last but most importantly he pulled up his green bandana and tied it around his head in a way where it covered his hair, except his bangs.

Along with this ensemble he looked with much joy at his old scythe, Talon. He had spent most of his training tracking down the materials for it. The blade was made of the scales of a steel dragon so the blade was about four feet long and very hard wearing. The upper grip was made from mythril that had been spun into fine gauze. It held onto his hand like glue. The lower grip was made of boiled virage leather from the first virage he killed and it absorbed a lot of the force of any blow Talon received. The shaft was actually a gift from one of the elders from when he was younger. It came straight from the tree of life and was flexible yet strong.

Enji thanked Shirley for how much help she had given him by holding onto his stuff but he did ask one more favor. "Can you're friend here show me how to set traps in mid combat?"

The bandit merely chuckled and winked as he said "I'll do you one better, I'll give you everything you need for it as well." The bandit was surprised to see Enji learning the trade so fast. In a matter of three hours, Enji had mastered every technique and how to disable them in less than thirty seconds in combat.

With this knowledge, Enji thanked Shirley once more and her bandit assistant before he warped his way back into the alley he had come from earlier. As he did so he heard one last sentence from Shirley in his head. _Eventually you will come to a cross roads and you'll have to choose between honesty and the life of a coward and I only hope for your sake you choose right._

When he had arrived at the doctor's office a few moments later he saw a young woman on the bed. She didn't seem much older than eighteen but when Enji saw her chills got sent through his spine.

He sensed a power inside her that he was pretty sure no one except him knew. This was the moon child. He thought Rose had destroyed the last moon child for awhile, so what was she doing here. Enji asked the doctor "What is she in for?"

"Aw, well, you see, she got infected with dragon poison. Her friends went down to the temple to find her a cure a few hours ago." Who ever her friends were just missed seeing Enji training.

It seemed to Enji that he was an open book that day, because as he thought back to his training the doctor said "There's a tournament of heroes in a day or two. Would you be interested in competing? Because if you are, you can head down to the arena and signup."

Enji being as up to testing his training as a kid would be to go to a market knowing he'd get candy. Enji was gone in a flash and off for the arena. When he got there he was surprised to see it practically empty.

As he waltzed in, the shaft of Talon stuck straight up from his back in its 'sheath'. He walked up to the signup counter and started to put his name on the slip. As he did so one of the people said "You know that by doing this you're volunteering for a three way match at some point in the tournament."

Enji just let a grin pierce his confident exterior as he continued to put his name on the slip. He knew that he'd have to keep his powers but just because he had those powers didn't mean he needed them to fight well. He had gone a long time without having to use them and he wasn't going to blow his cover now.

The only question remained what to do for twenty-four hours. The answer came in more training. The only way he could use Talon to its greatest potential was if he reacquainted himself with it.

To be continued…


	5. Tournament?

He was training well into the night before returning to the doctor's office. As he did so the doctor said "You going to get worn out well before the tournament at this rate."

Enji ignored him and went straight to bed. He didn't have time to argue with a stubborn old man. He needed to get his sleep. If Enji's calculations were right he would wake up just in time for the tournament.

Enji woke up in time for the tournament alright the beginning of it. He was only glad it was his habit to sleep in his gear. He booked it down to the arena in time for his match, which normally would be perfect timing but he wanted to get there early so he could talk to his possible opponents.

His first opponent was your typical muscle brained fool. The man did put up a very good fight but when he charged straight forward into Enji's spider trap and the rest was history. He got his wish to fraternize with his foes anyway.

The first person he ran into was a silver haired man that called himself Lloyd. As Enji started to talk to the man, he seemed interested in what Enji had to say about the first dragon campaign. Taking advantage of this common ground, Enji continued to tell him all about the moon objects.

Enji was a bit upset to find out his next match was with his new friend Lloyd but they both promised they wouldn't hold back in the arena. Enji planned on holding true to this. He would use spells if he had to but he was going to push his muscles as hard as he could.

When they both had entered the arena Enji pulled Talon out and brandished it with skill. Admittedly, he was trying to show off but it was also meant to be an intimidation factor. All it seemed to do was light a new fire in Lloyd's eyes. Enji liked that look, it meant that his opponent was going to give that match all the energy they had in their bodies.

As the match began Enji tossed out the spider web trap straight down the center splitting it off into Lloyd's half and Enji's half. This was an honorable way of saying, cross that line and see what happens.

The crowd started to go crazy. They loved the showmanship that Enji was showing. Almost as if their response was his cue, Lloyd said "If this was a beauty contest you would win but this is combat."

With this line still lingering in the air, Lloyd chopped his way through the web and advanced at Enji at such speed that most People wouldn't have had time to think before getting hit by it. Enji, however, had enough time to think one thought before getting punched halfway across the arena. It went a little like this, _Winglie._

Enji got up with minor wounds and Lloyd seemed to be surprised by this. Enji wiped some blood off his lip. He had accidentally bit it when he was hit. Other than that, Enji was fine. He brushed off some of the dirt off his armor and readied Talon for this next attack.

He was going for his ultimate melee item combo. He pulled his special poison needle out of his bag, put some of the poison on his blade and fell into his combat stance.

As Lloyd charged forward Enji blocked the sword, guided it down his shaft into the crook of his blade and used that as the launching point of a cartwheel kick to Lloyd's face and finished the counter by bringing the blunt side of the blade into Lloyd's head.

Now the time had come to finish the job. As he charged in to unleash his combo Lloyd punched Enji in the gut and hit five different pressure points on Enji's body and caused Enji to black out.

When he came to he was once again in the doctor's office but instead of seeing the doctor he saw Rose sitting next to him. Enji immediately leapt out of the bed and made a running start for the door. He saw a red blur get in between him and the door but he just pushed it aside and flung the door into it.

As he ran for the stairs he clearly saw Lavitz at the bottom. _Forget that I'm not trapped so easily._ Enji ran further down the gangway until he came to what most people would see as a dead end. To him it was another exit. He ran full steam toward the edge and jumped off when he hit the end.

With all the grace he shows in his warping, he lands face first after falling one story. Rose and the gang stare in disbelief as they see the prone figure. Enji got up, with bits of dirt lodged in between his teeth, and started for the main gates.

By the time Rose and her goon crew got there Enji was far away on the dusty trail. He started west to the land of Tiberoa. Maybe he could lay low there for a while.

To be continued…


	6. Tiberoan Excursion

Enji was glad that he had avoided them as easily as he had. The one mistake people made in trying to trap him was they only thought about the safe ways to leave while Enji sees an exit in everything. Maybe people would realize that one day.

Meanwhile, Enji had to find his way to the town of Feltz. He heard that the princesses were dealing with some bandit troubles and Enji sensed a quick buck. The strange thing was he felt chaos in the air he hadn't felt for a long time. Something wasn't right and Enji was going to poke and prod till he got answers.

He did have larger issues to deal with, though. He was running low on food and was getting followed, no, chased by some rodents, no, golems. Enji was practicing blowing this out of proportion so no one would know his fear of mice.

As he sprinted down the road his panic took over and he accidentally transformed. His steely dragoon armor shining in the sunlight, Enji Broke the sound barrier as he ran like his life depended on it.

Exhausted, he fell to the ground and returned to his original shape. As he did so he felt stone under him. _Stone? _He looked around and saw cobblestone walkways all around him. He had made it to Feltz, admittedly in a panic, but he made it there none the less.

When he saw the huge towers he knew where the princesses were. Now, how would he get in? It was that moment when he remembered that he had something in his bag for just such an occasion.

He walked up to the guard at the entrance, like every castle has, and showed him the royal seal, he had one for every land (like souvenirs to him), and the guard let him through but gave him a strange look as Enji started up the steps. When Enji got up the steps and reached the castle entrance he knew why.

All of the new 'guards' were nothing more than gussied up bandits. He could have just plopped on a uniform and it would have had the same effect. _But this way, I get to keep my wonderful threads and talk to the princesses as Enji the rouge. _ With his plan firmly in mind, Enji started to stroll over to the throne room.

As soon as he got within thirty feet of the chamber a guard stopped him and asked him to leave. Enji took a quick look around he didn't see anyone so he punched the poor soul's lights out. One swift punch to the nose and the inexperienced thief was put down. He'd be out of it for at least two hours.

He walked casually into the throne room but the only person he saw was the king. "Excuse me, sir, but I was wondering if I could talk to your daughters about something of national importance."

"They're in their towers. If you want to talk to them you'll have to get past the tower guards." The king treated this as common place. Enji was surprised that a king would be so comfortable with complete strangers walking in for no apparent reason.

Enji left the chamber with that question burning in his mind. He went to the east tower first, said to be the room of the younger of the two sisters. When Enji arrived at the tower entrance a rather powerful guard stood in the way.

Enji tried to play it cool. He flashed his seal and tried to pass through. The obstinate guard refused to move. Enji disliked this guy already. Either this guy was blind or he was a statue, and Enji saw him breathing. So Enji used the same line about national importance and the man didn't give a single sign to acknowledge Enji's presence. Enji tried to sneak around the clueless hunk of meat and got punched in the gut and tossed down the stairs by the guard.

Getting up and brushing dirt off of his leather, he tried the other tower with slightly different results. When he arrived the guard was just like the one at the other tower, except when he arrived at the chamber he stepped aside.

Inside, the princess was waiting for him. As she introduced herself Enji was almost positive she wasn't the real princess. "I'm Emily, the oldest princess in the castle. And you are…?"

"…the only person who knows that you're faking!" Enji finished with childlike conviction. Enji knew a lot of spells to disguise things but this one was a winglie spell. The fake princess applauded.

"Very good, you've earned yourself a cookie." With these words the princess changed into a rather plain female winglie. "My real name is Lenus."

Enji was surprised at the name but still wanted more answers. "So, Lenus," Enji asked with a smile. He started to do a half hearted bow, "how can I be of service?"

Lenus seemed to be surprised at this thought of having a servant. She let out a faint smile. "You can help by going to the Giganto city. Destroy the bandits there and I'll consider letting you join the master plan."

"I hope you don't mind me asking," Enji said humbly, trying to weasel the information out of her.

"Why. Lloyd's plan along with Emperor Diaz to resurrect the Winglie god Melbu Frahma, of course. If you complete this task for me I'll let you join in bringing our master back to life.

Enji wasn't a fool but apparently she was. He wasn't going to let a group of ruffians run this capitol. He knew that she thought that she was sending him to his death but she apparently didn't recognize her own kind. So as not to alert her to her mistake Enji replied "As you wish…milady" Enji left the room, Headed downstairs and left out the main door.

On his way down the stairs the guard at the bottom asked "Is it just me or is Princess Emily a completely different person?"

Enji snickered ask he responded, "You don't know the half of it." Enji started to leave when he noticed a rather quaint little diner. As he walked in a young waitress named Café greeted him. When Enji tried to get a word in edge wise she always cut him off. The conversation went a little like this, Enji note: When you see / that is where I tried to speak, "Hi/ my name is Café/ it's a pleasure to meet you/ are you one of those strange guards/ cause if you are that would be awesome/ then I could totally ask you a whole bunch of questions until you eventually got tried of my voice/ and went berserk."

"ENOUGH!" Enji screamed. "CAN I ORDER MY FOOD AND RELAX!?"

"Wow," she responded, "you really do need to relax. Just sit down and I'll get back to you later."

That girl was so annoying. Why couldn't they get someone normal to be the waitress? They would probably get more customers that way. Still it wasn't his diner, maybe he had better just mind his own business, grin, and bear it.

When the waitress returned she asked, "Have you decided what you want sir/ because if you haven't I have some suggestions for you/ like the chicken/ or the meat and cheese sandwich/ or a meat sandwich…"

Enji punched her in the arm and said, "Just get me some coffee and I'll be on my way."

"Yes, sir." She ran off into the kitchen and ten minutes later stepped out holding a flask. Enji examined it thoroughly and deemed it suitable for consumption. After that he took a quick swig and made his way to the front entrance of the diner. He turned around and thanked them as he left.

Five minutes later Café was looking everywhere in town for him. It took her that long to figure out he left without paying. Being as agile and quick as he was, Enji had already bought all of his supplies, mostly potions, and left in four minutes and fifty five seconds.

With those extra five seconds he had already hit the dusty trail with the pass he needed to get into the valley of corrupted gravity. He was planning on dropping by the city of Doneau on the way but that was further ahead then he actually tended to plan his adventures. He wasn't sure what he would do when he would get there but he knew that he'd know when he got there.

He passed through a rather small patch of desert between him and both cities he was trying to get to. This fact ticked him off. He really didn't like deserts. They were full of scorpions and other nasty little beasties out to eat him because he was soft and pink.

He pushed onward despite of that and, after having to smack around a few scorpions and arrow shooting beasts, he ran into a group he could only assume was a three of the bandits. He ran up to them and said, "Now that I've arrived the party can begin."

Caught off guard by their supposed victim. The bandits pulled out short swords and prepared for combat Enji pulled out Talon and, because he didn't want to waste too much time, he used the last of his dragoon energy for the time being.

His steel colored armor flashed in the bright sunlight and his dragon wings reflected so much light that it blinded his foes. Faster than the blink of an eye the three men were all dead and Enji stood a bit further down the way to Doneau. What idiot thought that three guys would stop anyone sent to stop them?

Those guys deserve to be destroyed for having that kind of blind confidence in themselves. But that would come later, for now their leader would survive another day while Enji prepared his bag for the coming battle in the town of Doneau.

To be continued…

Author note: If you like the story so far I beg you to go onto my profile page and vote in the polls. Every vote counts. PLZ:(


	7. True Love?

As Enji entered the rather small town he recognized the garb of the 'guards' around him. _So, the bandits have already overrun this place._ As Enji made his way to the hotel he saw a group of the stupid fiends picking on someone. Enji really didn't want to leave a hapless fool to be killed by those punks. It would probably be best if he intervened.

When he jumped into the circle of bandits to protect their victim he got a good look at the poor soul. To most people it would look as if they were picking a fight with a little girl, but Enji knew a winglie when he saw one, well for the most part.

It was also a wrong assumption to say they picked a fight with her. She had a massive hammer out and there was an unconscious bandit in front of her. With all of these facts Enji made a comment that threw her off guard but said everything, "Let the knight in shining armor take over." While those words lingered in the air he pulled out Talon. Its blade seemed to be giving off its own light as the sunlight glistened on it.

The bandits seemed intent on killing this lady. Enji would have to fix them. He held up a finger as if to tell them to wait a minute. The bandits seemed all too obliging; they once again let their confidence blind them to any escape route.

And there was no need for one for Enji, but the woman was another story. Enji pulled out a smoke bomb, threw it down and warp the poor girl out of there. With that out of the way, Enji warped back into the men's circle before the smoke cleared and readied for a mass of weaklings to try to pile on him

The men seemed to have been caught off guard by the girl having vanished before their eyes. Enji took advantage of this moment to introduce himself. "I call myself Enji, veteran of many wars and now reduced to a pickpocket and mercenary and I've been hired to kill you and all of your bandit buddies."

The bandits didn't seem to want to play nice after that comment considering they pulled out short swords and tried to poison Enji. Being the man of action he was, Enji span his scythe in front of him like a shield and turned around. In doing so he deflected all the needles back at the people that had thrown them.

With that working as a through distraction, Enji decided to use this moment to attack. During his advance one of them got a lucky shot a nailed him smack dab in the middle of the arm with a powerful poison needle. It paralyzed him from the waist down.

Considering he was moving at the time that it took effect, Enji stumbled and rolled about five feet before hitting a wall at a very painful speed. These guys obviously had some idea what they were doing.

With the poison added in he would have a hard time getting anywhere but doing so and fighting were out of the question. So he had a choice between sitting there and fighting or running using his hands until the toxin wore off. It was obvious to him what he had to do.

He held up his scythe and readied one of his most powerful techniques. He only hoped he had enough mana left for it. Talon's blade began to shine with unnatural light, in the bright light it was reflecting before it was impossible to tell.

As the bandits closed the distance slowly, thinking they had won, Enji released the energy. A wave of energy, invisible to human eye, pulsed from him and launched the bandits back; it also broke a few of their bones.

It was that exact moment when the toxin wore off. _Guess it was meant for humans._ His winglie immune system was a lot stronger than any human's. As he stood he saw one of them was still alive.

The poor man's last words were "Where did she go?"

Enji smiled at the bandit and said, "And our lovely Assistant is completely unharmed." As he said this he offered his hand up to help the young lady down off the roof she had been watching from. As if he was pleased by that response, the man passed on.

"Lovely? Flattery will get you no where." The young winglie scolded. "I do appreciate your help, though. I could have handled them myself. It was my fight not yours."

"I know all that but I can't let such a young, lovely, winglie maiden get hurt now can I?" Enji knew that that would tell her anything else she couldn't tell already.

"Chivalry is dead. Haven't been you been told that already?"

"I have, but as long as I use it that's false. The way I see it, ladies have the right to do anything men can do but because they are more fragile they need a knight in shining armor to keep them from fatal wounds or unfair odds."

The woman, now becoming indignant, asked, "Are you implying that I can't handle myself? Because if you are I could just turn you in to the whole group and…"

"What's your name?"

"I don't see…"

"What's your name?" Enji insisted.

"Meru. And yours is, Enji. Right?"

"Yep. I came up this way because I wanted to go through the valley of corrupted gravity but I'm glad I came in time to help a lovely young girl like you." Enji really was glad. This Winglie was much younger than him but he felt like he loved her. He had never believed love at first sight until now.

The girl was blushing. She was trying to hide it by looking down but he could tell. "Thank you for all of your help. I wish you luck on your journey." Finishing the conversation like that the girl ran off into the streets of the town.

Enji smiled a bit and started out the front gate. He understood what she was going through. If she was like him and hadn't believed love at first sight and then had it blindside her, he didn't hold it against her. Enji started down the path to the valley half hoping she would run out and join him. Sadly, he had to leave without her.

Enji arrived at the entrance about a week later and as he did so he flashed his pass. It took forever for them to crank the door open, but once they had, Enji began to realize just how much damage had been caused in the first dragon campaign.

Its name fit the scene. It was a seemingly bottomless pit with gravity that had been so screwed up that boulders moved through the air with the greatest of ease. Enji really didn't like that idea one bit so he decided to run through as fast as he could without falling to possible death.

As he booked it he saw a lot of unwholesome creatures fly past, almost as if they were blurs. And then it hit him, or to be more exact he hit it. There was a rather large statue in front of him. When he looked up he saw it wasn't a statue but a dormant Virage instead. Once that became clear to him Enji stepped around it and continued to book it to the Giganto village.

Once he had arrived at the Giganto village, Enji made it his goal to find and neutralize their leader as soon as possible. That way, even if he failed at killing all of them they would do the rest of the work for him.

He found out that it was going to be more difficult than that considering they had traps every where. He just tried going in through the main entrance way and arrows started to shoot from the wall. Needless to say Enji was ticked off beyond all belief.

Someone really didn't want him there but he wanted to get in. Enji decided to warp past the arrow trap and be more cautious further down. He remembered his training with the temple bandit and realized that his training there would help him here.

As he advanced he didn't come on to anymore traps but after about an hour of exploration he came to their fortress. He saw a circular gateway and started to walk up to it. As he did so the giant circular stone door fell into place in front of him.

When he looked up a lot of bandits were standing on the battlements laughing at him. He was starting to get truly annoyed but there wasn't anything he could do without causing a big scene.

He didn't have to though. They sent what seemed to be an army of martial artists out to fight him. In a matter of moments they had him cornered in between the door and themselves. Enji's adrenaline started to go crazy. All of his senses suddenly sharpened and his body was coiling up like a spring.

His dragoon spirit activated itself and he no longer had con troll of his body's actions. All he remembered were his muscles getting pushed beyond what they should, even for a dragoon, and when he had finally calmed down he was surrounded by wounded bodies. After that memory he blacked out. When he woke up he was hog tied in a dark cell.

To be continued…

Note: No, seriously. VOTE!


	8. The Departure

Every few days they would give him some food and water, just enough to sustain him, and leave. After awhile they would drug his food, knock him out and retie him. Enji was getting tired of this but they did change him into just binding his arms behind his back and tying his legs together.

They had thought ahead and dropped him in an anti spell cage. He couldn't muster up energy if his life depended on it. This was especially annoying because it extended to his dragoon powers too. He couldn't even change for one second before losing consciousness.

He heard foot steps outside his cell. "About time! I'm starving in here. Could you give me a bit more bread this time? Last time you didn't even give me enough to save for later."

A strange silence lingered out side the cell. Then the door slid open. At first the light blinded him but as his eyes adjusted he saw Meru standing at the opening, her face a bright crimson.

"Hello, Meru. A little help here?" Enji asked a little embarrassed. As she helped him out his bonds she continued to try to hide her red face. Trying to be sly Enji asked "Why don't you ever look me in the eye?"

She looked up at him and said "I don't know what you mean." Her face was still a little rosy but other than that she was fine.

Enji just smiled at her and said "So, how did you get this far to save your knight when he couldn't even get this far without being captured.

"I had some help." She pointed over her shoulder as she finished loosing Enji's bonds. The first people he saw were an old man and Albert, the king of Serdio. It was the people he saw afterward that made him want to run, but he kept his cool in front of Meru. If they helped her then he had nothing to worry about. He was, after all, Meru's friend.

It was Kongol, Dart, the girl he saw on the bed in Lohan, and Rose. He greeted them all kindly and asked how they had gotten there but before anyone could respond Rose cut in and said, "Why weren't you there when your friends needed you?"

"Rose, if I'm going to tell you why I need to talk to you in private but now is not the time." Enji was surprised at her bringing this up in front of people who weren't even alive at the time. "I have more important things to attend to. Where's my necklace?"

"You'll get it back when you tell me." Vengeance was burning deep in her eyes. He knew that she wouldn't accept no for an answer.

Enji was hardly one to be blackmailed so he changed the subject. "Where's Lavitz?"

Everyone but Meru and Kongol tried to change the subject yet again. Albert said, "We forgot to introduce ourselves. This is Haschel and I'm…"

"Albert, I know," Enji rushed them, "Where's Lavitz?" Enji was getting the vibe of very bad news.

"He's… no longer with us." Albert awkwardly. It seemed to be a touchy subject with them.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Enji asked, depressed.

"Yes, I'm sorry to say. He died trying to save my life."

It was this exact reason Enji preferred not to from such powerful bonds. They're a two way street. One always dies for the other and leaves the survivor with more pain then they know what to do with. It was a shame that such a fine warrior fell into such a trap.

Enji shed a small tear and continued to interrogate them. "Who killed him and why?" Enji would avenge Lavitz even if it cost him his life because that man was a comrade and Enji didn't appreciate people offing his buddies.

"It was the Lloyd guy from the tournament. He stole my divine moon object and when Lavitz tried to stop him he killed him with a dragon buster."

A dragon buster? Enji thought the last of those had been destroyed at the end of the first dragon campaign. If Lloyd was packing one of those and was after the divine moon objects then Enji knew what he was doing and what he was planning next.

"I'll come with you guys as far as Doneau but after that I'm heading to Millie Seseau. I hope that I run into you guys while I'm there but there is something very important I have to do there."

Enji was pretty sure that they had cleared a way through the valley. When they had hit the crossroads they took the other man who had been trapped to Doneau. It turned out the man was going to get married. The group was invited and they accepted.

When they entered in to the town the streets were packed because of the celebration. Enji took advantage of this to take Meru aside. When he had gotten her alone he told her "You may not ever see me again, so I want to leave you with something to remember me by."

He kissed her on the cheek and warped to the dock. He drank a sun rhapsody and started to fly across the body of water. It would take a long time but that along with swimming should get him there in about a month. That should be plenty of time for everything to fall into place.

To be continued…


	9. Memories

Enji arrived at Furni after a month of flying. He was beyond exhausted so he decided to settle down at the nearby hotel. Maybe if he paid them enough maybe he could use it as a headquarters.

He dropped two hundred pieces of gold on the counter and walked into the nearest empty room and crashed. While he caught up on much needed sleep his mind recalled some of his past training and his old named burned in the back of his mind, _Johi._

Johi was tired of the training Rose was putting him through. He had grown up since she had given him the dragoon spirit and yet she still treated him like a child. He was going to prove himself to be a skilled warrior.

His weapons training had been finished a long time ago and now she continued to insist that there was more for him to learn, but all she was doing was repeatedly hitting him with the same drills over and over again.

The time had come to challenge the master at her own game. When he had arrived with her at the temple he knew the time had come. "Rose, I challenge you in a sparring match." She seemed to be caught off guard by her pupil's challenge.

"Fine then, I accept. Don't expect to win, though." She seemed very confident in her own abilities. Johi would have to change that.

"Before we start," He cut in, "I want this match to have a special condition. If I win then you take me to see the man you keep talking about seeing to get me in your ranks."

"And if I win, you stop your silly notions of fighting in this war," Rose dared.

"Fine by me, I wouldn't be caught dead losing to you." Johi was very confident in what he could do. He had even trained himself to fight in three dimensions so she was going to be greatly surprised.

Shirley entered just as they transformed. She seemed to want to be a spectator not knowing what was at stake for Enji. Rose launched the first attack by quickly launching an astral drain. Johi flew towards her and quickly twisted ever so slightly so as to remain on course and avoid the attack entirely.

As he closed the gap between himself and Rose, she had no way to defend herself. Her sword had gotten lodged deep in a tree and she had no other weapons. Johi thought that he had just won.

A split second later Rose's image disappeared and Johi had to stop the attack. Too late, Talon had gotten lodged in the stone of the temple. Rose had dislodged he rapier by then and took advantage of that moment to strike.

She started to close the distance faster than Johi had anticipated and by the time he had gotten Talon halfway out of the stone she was there. Thinking fast, Johi grabbed her rapier by the tip with his bare hand. It hurt immensely but Johi had managed to do it with ease.

Rose wasn't sure what to make of this. That was until Johi pulled her into the wall be side him. He had managed to get Talon out of the stone it was stuck in and readied a strike. Being as resourceful as she was, Rose used the close quarters to try to drain him again.

Johi released her and created some distance between them. She was still holding back, he could tell. "You're holding back." Johi was a little insulted by this.

"Of course! Why would I go all out against somebody that won't go all out on me?" she answered matter-of-factly.

"Because if you don't your going to get beat." With his thoughts finished Johi charged in at a drastically higher speed.

The match continued as Rose was forced onto the defensive. Johi was so glad that he had built Talon. Most scythes would have broken if they had been put through as much torture as it had, but it still looked newly forged.

Rose parried many of Johi's blows but the few that had gotten past were dangerously close to hitting her. He knew that their blades were dulled when they sparred but it was too close for comfort even for Johi. He was afraid that if he let up she would recover and then he'd be in for a real world of hurt.

She said, "You've gotten pretty good, Johi, but you still have one major opening."

"And what is that?" Johi was genuinely confused. He wasn't aware of any weaknesses.

"You're friends. Now choose between victory or defeat." With this Rose threw her rapier at Shirley. Afterward, Rose left herself wide open. Enji, caring more about his friends then the match, flew to her rescue.

He may have cared more about his friends then winning but he wasn't dumb. He knew how to do both. When he stopped the rapier, by snatching it out of mid air, he turned back to Rose. He flew towards her at a speed even he was surprised with.

Rose, expecting to feel the sting of his blade, was surprised to see him returning her weapon. Being the honorable warrior he was, he refused to fight an unarmed opponent unless that was their weapon of choice.

She accepted the return of her weapon and allowed him to return to his stance a few meters away, a mere second to them. She seemed pleased with this action but she did give a stern warning. "I let you off because we're just sparring but if you did that on a real battle field your opponent would take advantage of that to kill you."

"I'm well aware. And now we continue." Johi and Rose advanced in what seemed to be their last aerial clash. They were both running low on dragoon energy and they were starting to lose their breath.

Johi was launching just as many attacks as Rose was but he wasn't giving it his all. He was holding back, but only slightly. Both of them were parrying all of each other's blows but were struggling to do so and launch attacks of their own.

Johi decided to try and end it. He suddenly vanished from Rose's view. He started to descend from above her. She caught on rather quickly and parried the blow. Just as she did so, both she and Johi returned to their normal states.

They both recovered their stances on the ground as they panted. They were both sweating terribly and knew the other wouldn't last too much longer. One well placed blow would be all it would take to win.

Aware of this they both charged in for what would be the last time in the battle. As Rose swung her rapier downward she was caught off guard by Johi's next move. Instead of either attacking or just straight up blocking the blow, Johi guided her blade down the shaft of his weapon into the crook of his blade.

Johi then spun clock wise around her blade using his scythe and kicked her in the face. As if to seal the deal he brought the flat side of his blade across her face. She was entirely stunned so Johi closed what little distance there was and hit her up into the air with the blunt end of his scythe and jumped into the air. He used the same end to smack her down toward the ground. Using his speed well he went down just in time to catch her, saving her from hitting the ground.

After this he passed out from sheer exhaustion and hoped she would keep her end of the bargain. Johi wanted to meet this guy she spoke so highly of. Zieg would know Johi soon enough.

To be continued…


	10. Flashback

Johi was anticipating his final meeting with this Zieg guy. It was a long time coming and Johi wanted to help them in their efforts to win this war. Johi knew there was so much more for him in their ranks than in his training.

Rose didn't like having to take him there. She admitted that she had lost and that she would live up to their deal. She seemed nervous about something but Johi couldn't place it. She knew he wasn't going to turn them in or destroy them.

When they arrived at the dragoon headquarters it was awe-inspiring. Such a massive bowl shaped structure and yet he didn't see anyone. "Rose, where is everybody? I thought that you said I'd get to meet them."

"They'll be arriving shortly." Rose was starting to sweat. What did she have to worry about? They were all her friends weren't they? She had nothing to fear from them and Johi wasn't a threat either. So what was she afraid of? 

Johi saw the dragoons land one by one into the arena. Rose was strangely silent as they did so. Johi recognized one of them as Shirley. He waved to her but, just like Rose, her mind seemed elsewhere. When the final one came in Johi knew who it was. _Zieg, _was his first and only thought about him.

The red armored dragoon in front of him just glared in Johi's direction. He said, "You will have to pass three tests. If you can successfully pass them you can fight beside us," he seemed to have a casual tone at this, "but if you fail," he said basking in the moment, "you die!" The amount of bloodlust he sensed in the air was amazing.

Johi said "I can handle anything you can throw at me." He was almost positive that they were going to throw a whole bunch of third rate challenges at him that he could do blindfolded and he'd be in. He realized that when he accepted the challenges both Rose and Shirley seemed to get extra nervous.

"I respect your spunk but I don't think you understand, young dragon." Zieg responded. "All of your challenges will be against me. The entire thing will be a one on one sparring match, best of three. If you win then you're in but if you lose I'll kill you. You get one hour to prepare. I choose the conditions of the first round."

Johi was surprised that he gets to fight Zieg so soon but Johi was up for the challenge. "You better choose well because I'm not planning on losing to you." Zieg would be a real challenge. Johi was glad that he was getting that hour to prepare, he'd need it.

While he was cleaning Talon just outside the entrance of the arena, Shirley walked up to him and sat next to him. She broke the silence and said "Zieg isn't going to go easy on you, you know. He's a lot more powerful then I think you're giving him credit for."

"I know. I can't hold back at all. If I lose this then you guys have to kill me and if I win I get what I've been hoping for since I first started training. This is an all or nothing gambit and you know how I get when I'm put in these situations. I don't think either of us have it easy. I wouldn't have any idea who to bet on."

"You know I hope you win but I'm not sure what the final results will be."

Johi got up as he said "The first round is beginning so I'd better go." 

When he stepped into the outer ring he saw Zieg waiting for him in the center of the arena in his normal form. Johi was impressed by the amount of tenacity that Zieg was showing. It looked like he wanted to face Johi just as much as he wanted to fight Zieg.

When Johi hopped down into the arena Shirley followed him and said "I'll be the referee. What match do you call Zieg?"

"I call no spells but dragoon spirits will be allowed."

"Alright, the cast has been set. Time limit is five minutes. Fight!"

When the match started both of them immediately ran up to each other and linked their blades. Afterward they both transformed. Johi and Zieg were on the same wavelength. 

As the two weapons struck each other an echoing clash was heard. The two weapons, though inanimate, seemed to be fighting amongst themselves. Neither one was even coming close to snapping though a normal weapon would have.

They broke the link and each carried on an offensive stance. Johi closed the distance on Zieg while Zieg charged his attack. When Zieg loosed such power it left a massive crater in the ground, with Johi in the middle. When the smoke from the explosion cleared Johi was holding back Zieg's aerial attack with flames surrounding him.

Johi asked, "Didn't you say no spells? I don't look kindly on cheaters." Rose had put him through temperature training and now he understood why. He would have to go from the extreme heat of Zieg's attack to the chill of high altitude. He was now glad for what seemed to him to be a waste of time.

Zieg seemed shocked for only a split second, and then he retorted, "That wasn't a spell. That was called using my element to its full potential." Johi was slightly upset with that response but he could easily fix his dissatisfaction.

He used the speed endowed by his dragoon spirit to get behind Zieg and use the force of his own blow against him. It worked splendidly, by the time Zieg pulled his face out of the ground Johi had already setup for a follow up blow. Talon was mere inches away from Zieg when the warrior managed to escape at the last second.

Zieg was faster than Johi gave him credit for. Johi figured that would have put him away for sure but sadly it wasn't meant to be. Zieg attacked first this time.

When he charged forward he had his sword pointing forward so as to stab Johi. This was tricky situation. Johi could handle if he struck from the sides or above but he would have a hard time blocking this. Straight forward had so little sword to block that if he screwed up he'd get skewered. 

Wait! He didn't have to block it. When the Zieg's blow arrived near him he knocked the blade aside and spun around hitting Zieg with the backside of the shaft. As Zieg went flying ten feet down the arena they both returned to their original forms. 

As this happened Shirley called "The time limit is up. Because both of you can still fight it's a tie. Johi, it's your turn to call the match. What will the rules be?"

Johi smiled, now the time had come for his favorite type of match. "I call no weapons or dragoon spirits. Just me, Zieg, and our fists."

"The cast is set. Time limit will be ten minutes. Ready, fight!" Shirley screamed.

To be continued…


	11. The Proving Grounds

When the round first started no one could tell who had the upper hand, not even Johi and Zieg. The match was too even. Every time someone tried to punch the other he would get swiftly blocked and would have to retreat his arm to fend off another blow.

They went on like that for about two minutes before they broke the clash to get a breather. They were both starting to lose their breath. Johi knew that he had plenty in reserve but he had never sparred with Zieg before so he couldn't tell. So far they were pretty even so he concluded this match was far from over.

Zieg made the first approach after the break. He went for a boot kick so Johi just grabbed the leg and tried to toss him over his shoulder. Johi had no idea it was playing right into Zieg's hand. Zieg brought his other leg up and across Johi's face. Johi went flying a good ten feet across the arena.

Zieg took advantage of the flight to charge in for another blow. This however played into Johi's hand. When Zieg got directly above Johi he got kicked right under the chin launching him high into the air. Johi jumped up and smashed him face first into the ground.

Johi quickly tried to drop a knee on Zieg's spine and end it but he rolled out of the way just in time to nail Johi in the face with his fist. As Johi began to roll for five feet, Zieg dropped a boot to his gut.

It knocked the wind out of Johi but he was far from defeated. Zieg was under the impression that it was over and was already showboating for the others. Johi used his foolish opening to boot him to the spine knocking him against the wall. Johi proceeded to unleash a series of palm strikes all over his exposed back.

Johi put some distance between himself and Zieg as the limp figure slumped to the ground. Johi used this time to recover his lost wind. He was glad he had enough air left to do that but he was mad because he was just recovering his air and it was making him lightheaded.

When Zieg recovered from the unexpected onslaught he also seemed to be having a hard time recovering his breath. Those palm strikes had done their job. He was weakened to the point where it would be much easier to fight him.

He thought so anyway, but Zieg proved him wrong on all accounts. Zieg was actually fighting with more tenacity than he ever had. He was launching barrages of punches without any concern for himself. The openings were many and the breathers few. Johi was almost sure he would not even survive the match let alone win.

He decided to pull out his ultimate counter. He only hoped he had the strength necessary to do so.

When the next punch came, he nimbly side stepped it as he grabbed the arm and broke it at the same time. Then he quickly transitioned to the other arm and broke it as well. He pulled the head back and elbowed him in the throat. Afterward he turned around and delivered a kick backwards that launched Zieg up and over him. When Zieg started to descend Johi dealt a punch to his gut.

As Zieg fell to the ground Johi could hear the audible sounds of Zieg's difficult breathing. Johi used it as a chance to put some distance between them yet again. Johi may have been good but he couldn't fight forever. He knew that the longer he stayed in close proximity he would be defeated faster than he wanted. Defeat wasn't an option at this point.

Zieg took about ten seconds to recover his breath and stood up stronger than before. Johi could tell that Zieg was starting to go all out. Every time Johi thought that Zieg was finally done he became stronger and stronger. Something wasn't adding up. Admittedly he expected Zieg to be tough but this was getting ludicrous. This guy just wouldn't stay down.

It was as if fate was trying to rub that in his face because the instant he thought this Zieg closed the distance at a surprising speed and punched Johi in the gut so hard it launched Johi back thirty feet. Johi thought it was strange that when he did this he was forced back ten feet.

Zieg shook his hand a bit and walked up to the prone figure of Johi. The instant he did he had to nimbly dodge an uppercut by leaning backwards a bit. Seeing his opening, Johi did a quick sweep kick and drilled Zieg in the middle of the gut with a knee.

Johi did a quick leap and started to come down with a heel to Zieg's head. Zieg had learned his lesson because as Johi did so he grabbed the foot with both his hands and threw Johi to the ground.

Zieg quickly made an evasive leap to avoid the new kick from reaching him. Zieg seemed to be learning as much from Johi as he was learning from Zieg. The two had two completely different styles. Each one's style was the other's worst foe. Things would have to be made up in order to account for that.

As Johi got up, both him and Zieg were tired of all of this ground combat. They both stood proud as Johi asked the all important question, "Can you allow us to use dragoon spirits at this point in the match?"

Shirley smiled and said, in the sweetest tone she could, "You have three minutes left in the match. Can't you wait?"

Both Zieg and Johi shrugged to each other and decided to ask another question. "Can we end it the next time Johi and I take a breather?" was the only question Zieg posed. She didn't see why not so she allowed it. Collecting themselves, his and Zieg prepared for the final onslaught of each other's attacks.

As Johi focused he noticed something about Zieg. All the damage he had received up to this point was only superficial. Even the broken arms seemed to be fixed. All of this was starting to add up in his mind. It explained everything during that match. The time had come to end it once and for all.

Johi's bloodlust began to rise. He would win and nothing would stop it from happening. Not even Zieg's brute strength would stop Johi's success at this point. In order to win he'd have to come at Zieg with intent to kill or all would be lost.

When they went after one another they were giving it all they had left in their tanks, which was a surprisingly large amount for having beaten each other senseless. Neither one wanted to give any ground because they knew that the instant they did it would be all over.

Fists were flying at an enormously high speed, so much so that even the fighters weren't entirely sure where they were or where they would land. They were pushing each other to their breaking points. They kept at it till they were both too out of breath to continue their scuffle.

At the end they broke off from each other and took a quick breather. It didn't matter how quick it was because the instant they broke the battle Shirley called the match over. When the dust cleared, both fighters were standing with no signs of collapse. She was forced to call it a tie.

"Now, the final match rules will be set by a neutral third party." Shirley declared as rose jumped down into the ring. Before she could speak Zieg offered his hand out for a hand shake. There was a healthy respect on both sides of the combatants. Johi smiled and shook the hand without hesitation.

"Remember, kid," Zieg said casually, "you have been officially accepted into the squadron, but don't think that means you can weasel out of the last round."

Johi continued with his smile and answered, "I wouldn't dream of it…sir."

Rose announced the match simply enough but it seemed to be an all or nothing match. "The match will be quick and prove once and for all who wins this. Zieg, Johi, take your positions and…Begin!"

They both immediately transformed as Zieg was handed his sword. They took their positions on either side of the arena. They both readied. They knew what had to be done. Zieg charged up his Final Burst and Johi readied himself on the other side. They would end this once and for all.

When the attack was launched Johi grabbed Ziegs blade on both sides with open palms. After this, he quickly used Zieg's momentum to hurl him into a wall. The blade had expanded more than Johi thought. A permanent scar was left on Johi's throat. Its burning was what awoke him the next day.


	12. Home Coming

Enji was awoken by the same buring he's been living with for a very long time now. His scar would not stop hurting until he stopped living and he knew it. When he had come almost fully to his senses he realized he had slept in that room for two days. That was valuable running time wasted. He quickly picked up his stuff and booked it into the forest. He knew he'd find what he was looking for out there.

He knew he'd have to use his secret entrance into the forest of the winglies. He wouldn't be just accepted back without any questions. He would show up inside his, quiet, fortress of a house. If anybody was inside he would be forced to get rid of them.

He entered the forest and was surprised to see it so heavily infested with monsters. Admittedly it was this infested when he was last here but the creatures used to be quality, not quantity. That's what held the humans away so long.

He came across his hidden entrance in the white tree he had planted when he was just a kid. He had hoped that it hadn't rotted out by now. When he arrived he saw a small wolf cub standing at the base of the tree. It was trying to attack him. As a gift for persistence, he changed the little guy into a giant. As the wolf was confused by its new form, Enji slipped silently past it into the tree and his entrance.

He entered and everything seemed very quiet. It was just as he suspected. His house had been untouched by everyone. He slipped out the front door only to be greeted by a look of shock from a nearby winglie. He gave the same look back. Suddenly, it seemed as though an idea had come to the winglie. He ran back to the town. Confused by this turn of events Enji kept moving.

Shortly after arriving at the town, a winglie flew down and escorted him to the elder. As he walked everybody had a hidden sense of joy. They seemed to be expecting something. When he walked into the room with the elder, he rolled his eyes and asked, "What? Is there something wrong about stepping out of my home?"

Shortly after saying this Enji regretted it. The elder asked, "So you are the legendary Johi?"

Enji had to say, "Well, not exactly."

"So you are his son?"

"I didn't say that either."

"Well? Which is it?"

"I used to go by the name you mention but I call myself Enji now."

"So you are both and yet neither?"

"Yeah, Pretty much." Enji said uncomfortably.

The elder smiled, and said, "That's just fine then." Confused by these words, Enji just shrugged and motioned to get into the Ancient City. The elder quietly opened the way and right before Enji was gone, he heard the elcer say, "Tell them it's a false alarm. I don't think he wants to be disturbed in his search."

The elder was wise, Enji gave him that much. The reason he had come was to find the final piece of the puzzle that would bring an end to his search. He would walk into there, fetch the stone he had hid there, and then he could go off and hide again.

As he rose to the ancient city he knew all too well, Enji realized just how long he had been gone. The land around the city was beyond barren and the city itself was in ruins. He looked at it, picturing it in its full glory and then snapped back to the sorry heap of metal and stone before him. Now it was just another memory.

He walked casually in and saw just how bad thing had gotten. There were even monsters who had managed to get past the barrier and infest this place as well. As he traveled, Enji realized more and more to how shut he had kept his eyes. Everything had been falling apart around him and all he did was focus on what he wanted to happen.

With all of this on his mind, he continued his search. He was reminiscing as he walked through but it kept being interrupted by the vicious monsters. Suddenly he had a very vivid memory return to him.

Melbu and he had been close friends at the academy, when they were both still quite young. Melbu was further in the cademy but worked as tutor for Enji when they were there. Enji kept swearing to Melbu he would beat him one day. Enji still hoped he'd get his chance.

This hallway was the one they walked down every day of training. He remembered saying that his good luck charm, the stone he had hidden here, would assure his victory. Melbu had then assured, "One day we'll fight for real one day and when we do I don't want you to hold back."

Those words were so cryptic but now Enji knew what Melbu meant. Melbu knew that when Enji found out what was really going on, they would brawl. Enji ran away then, so long ago, but he swore to himself he wouldn't the next time the opportunity came.

He remembered hiding the stone somewhere in the arena. He searched everywhere he could but soon realized it was hopeless. It wasn't here, that much was sure. He continued to search and his memories kept flooding back to him.

One stood above all others. The moment he realized Melbu had become corrupt. When Enji had brought up concerns over the progressing of the war, it wasn't the same Melbu he had tricked himself into thinking it was. He had been changed by the power as almost every does. He kept ranting about releasing the God of Destruction and wielding it against his foes. Melbu had tricked himself into thinking that he was all powerful.

That was when they had nothing in common anymore. Melbu was concerned only for power and Enji cared for the people. They had grown together and yet apart. Enji couldn't bring himself to kill Melbu before because he thought that there was still hope but now he was not so blind.

If they were ever to cross paths again, Melbu would pay for the damage his actions had caused on all those around him, even his own race. Enji would avenge the fallen even if he fell doing it. Time does not forget the deeds done and doesn't leave them unpunished for too long. Things would collapse around Melbu and Enji hoped he'd be there to see it happen.

He went down onto a lower level, far below ground level, and was surprised to see it in the same condition as the valley of corrupted gravity. He wandered awhile before he was smacked out of nowhere by a Virage arm. Not like the ones at the other two places. No, this was a super Virage. He hadn't seen one in a very long time. He transformed into a dragoon and tried to strike it.

It smacked him out of the air without any effort. He got back up and tried every tactic he could think of but every time he got close enough to hit it, it just knocked him away. He was at the end of his rope when he heard a voice in his head. It said very simply. _Allow me to help you._ At first Enji thought, _this has got to all be in my head,_ But it returned to him saying, _Use my power. The only condition is you must give up the physical._ Confused but curious, Enji accepted.

His armor started to turn black he could feel a dark entity push it's way into his head. He couldn't resist it. It felt a lot like when he lost control back at the bandit base. He started to fight it but it didn't take control. It just made a place for itself in his head.

He felt his strength draining but felt strength of another kind come to him. He held Talon up so high it glimmered in the sunlight. The glimmer soon vanished as the blade was coated in dark energy. He swung at the Virage and it fell towards the pit below. It was obviously still alive but too maimed to be a real challenge to him.

He returned to his normal form. He thought, _I don't know who you are but thanks for the new duds and powers._ The voice chose that moment to reassert itself. _You might know me as a Blood Dragon._ Blood dragons were supposed to be legend. Many Winglies had _heard_ of them but none of them had _seen_ one.

He took a quick look down at the stone embedded in his glove. It had turned pitch black. He didn't know what was going on but he didn't like the idea of a legendary dragon with powers over death making space in his mind. It had been his choice but now he had no real choice. He tolerated his presence for now but he would try to eliminate it as soon as possible.

He walked casually out the area and as he did so he found the unique stone. It was glowing brightly while the Stone in his glove gave off more of a darkness. He walked over to the stone, picked it up and left the Ancient City with a new found confidence and purpose. He would track down the real whereabouts of Melbu Frahma and avenge those that Enji had disappointed before. His next destination was the Capitol of this nation.


	13. The Watch

As he made his way out he went right back into his house. There was always something to be had supplies wise. He rummaged through the mountains of food, found a couple of good loaves of bread and left the way he had come.

He started through the forest towards the capitol of Millie Seaseau. He didn't know the way too well but the way he saw it, if he followed the most beaten path he would find it.

As he wandered through the seemingly endless woods he finally came to a road that seemed to lead out of the forest. He was glad but wasn't sure whether or not it was the way he wanted to go. He shrugged quickly and kept walking. As he did so, he noticed a guard blocking one of the paths.

Out of curiosity, Enji asked the man, "What's so important to post a guard in a very dangerous wood?"

The man answered, "It is the Mountain of Mortal Dragon. I'm afraid I can let you through without permission from the Queen."

"I thought all dragons were mortal. Check your facts before you name a mountain, bud. Secondly, I have…something in my bag for just such an occasion." He was realizing that what seemed like useless knick-knacks at the time were starting to pay off. He pulled out the royal seal of Millie Seaseau and the man let him through.

Enji's luck was looking up. His Knick-Knacks were getting him places he never dreamed of and more stuff than he could ever hope to use. He just had to find the right time to run into Rose again. If he could pull that off he could tell them the truth.

Till then there was always loot to be had. He searched all around the mountain and stumbled across a few dragon-like creatures but nothing like the ones he was used to. The critters always put up a good fight but they just wouldn't admit defeat. He was just combing for treasure left behind by unlucky travelers and they, like all monsters, kept pestering him.

He felt like this mountain should look familiar but he couldn't imagine why. He hadn't been around these parts in a long time so everything should seem similar but there was something that made him want to avoid going to the peak.

Against his better judgment, which was the only reason he did it, Enji made his way towards the peak of the mountain. When he reached the top he immediately regretted it.

As he looked over the brim of the volcano he saw something that inspired even more fear in his soul than when the Firebird shot up right next to him, which felt like centuries ago compared to how close his memories remained of this sight. The Divine Dragon was hanging from its chains, struggling as it had been doing for millennia.

It had been his clan of wingles that had sealed it in this location. He remembered how he had been dragged to the most deserted place to winglie kind and sealed the Divine Dragon inside an active volcano just as it went dormant. Enji thought that that was the end of the dragon, but here it was, dangling from many sets of chains a mere three hundred feet from the scorching magma.

Enji felt pity for the creature. It had been imprisoned so long that it hadn't had any chance to fly in countless years. A dragon that couldn't even be killed by the Dragon Buster and was so strong they had to seal it away instead of ending its misery. Enji did it a small favor for the honorable creature.

Enji transformed into a dragoon and launched a wave from his scythe that weakened all of the chains. He transformed back and started to walk away but before he had made it three steps, he realized what he had just done. He hung his head in shame as he continued down the mountain. There was nothing he could do now. All he could do was hide again.

When he had made it halfway down the mountain, he saw the giant creature take off; headed for the city he had just been traveling to. He snuck past the guard, so as to give the impression that Enji had been unlucky and unsuccessful. Enji started to make his way back to the winglies he had just left so as not to draw too much attention too himself.

When he had meandered and wandered around enough he managed to find the front entrance but instead, out of curiosity, he went to rack down his tree. He was still being attacked by rampaging trees but he hadn't given it another thought.

As he made his way to his tree he saw dart and the others fighting the wolf he had 'gifted' and was amazed to see how far they've come. Before he probably could have fought everyone except Rose off for quite awhile but they were starting to make him think that they could easily beat him if he still had the powers that he had had before.

When they had cleared the wolf out of there and had left, Enji made his move for the tree. He slipped quietly inside. After this, he wasn't going to need this entrance anymore so he closed it. He once again found sound sleep in his own home. He knew he could stay here without any real repercussions because it was his home.

After three days rest and relaxation, he had decided to get off his lazy but and get the Dragon Staff, hidden somewhere in the Ancient City. He picked himself up and started to collect his stuff. When it had finally been fully packed, or more accurately crammed, into his pack he traveled to the elder. He couldn't tell the elder the whole story but Enji thought it was worth a shot.

When Enji had made it to the elder, the old man pushed Enji into the elevator. As he came up he was confused. Did the elder already know? Pusing these thoughts out of his head, Enji stepped forward, raising his head at the same time, he found himself coming lip-to-lip with Meru. This time both parties turned crimson.

They both turned around, each one not letting the other see their face, and said, "Why weren't you watching where you were going?" Enji answered first, "I just got pushed into an elevator by an old man before I could say anything."

"Well, we're dealing with a dragon." Meru informed him.

Once they had both regained their composure, Rose quickly asked, "Will you tell me what I want to know now?" She seemed determined to get an answer out of him.

He took her aside in private. He didn't want his problems to be public knowledge. "Look Rose, this will be hard to accept but if I had told you this long ago I wouldn't be here right now." He took a moment to let that sink in. "I'm a winglie, Rose. Do you see now why I couldn't fight the final battle with you guys? It was either slaughter my own people or kill my friends. I could not bear to do either."

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Rose demanded.

"Do you know what would have happened?" Enji snapped. "You guys would have killed me on the spot. I would have had no chance to defend my reasons. I would be pegged as a traitor and lynched within the hour."

"Shirley and I wouldn't have. You could have told us."

"I did tell Shirley and she knows you better than you know yourself. She said she'd tell you when she thought you were ready to hear it. When I returned to her she left it up to me to tell you."

Rose was strangely quiet for a minute or two. She then said, quietly and politely, "Are you going to help us with the dragon?"

"I was thinking of heading up to the old coliseum. I've faced one of my demons; I think it's time to face the last of them." He tried to smile but just couldn't force one out after that conversation.

As he started to walk away, Rose said, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

As Enji turned around to try to reply the necklace his father had given him landed at his feet. As he put it on he heard the all too familiar tick-tock echoing through his head once more. To this soothing rhythm kept thumping in his head as he casually walked away. He quickly glanced over his shoulder, seeing Meru talking to Rose, and flashed a thumbs up. Meru's eyes flash quickly as he warped away, leaving her and the others alone near the teleporter.


	14. An Immortal Traveler

Enji appeared in Deningrad just as the dragon struck the castle. Seeing the wondrous shards sparkle as they fell to the earth, he felt responsible. It was his fault that the dragon was loose. He saw a burst of energy that he could only assume was the signet within breaking.

Why would it attack one of the signets? Is it because of the energy coming from it? Is this a part of that winglie's plan with the moon objects? That would make sense but what would be the point? The god of destruction remains sealed by these signets but releasing it and awakening it are two different things. In order to take full advantage you'd have to use the moon child to awaken it.

Impossible. Rose has seen to that. She has gone around hunting down the moon children and destroying the keys to that abomination's return. Enji is a winglie and even he thought that that thing was a monster. The symbol of winglie superiority and power, the god of destruction as some call it, was sealed away one hundred thousand years ago at the end of the dragon campaign.

Melbu had spoken of a way to take complete control of that power. Could this winglie be working for Melbu? But Melbu was dead. There was no denying this fact. Even if he had survived the war, he should have died of complications by now.

No, he was still alive. Enji could feel Melbu's tug on the fabric of reality. Somehow that villain had held onto his miserable life. Enji had been at the funeral though. How had he slipped past? Was it a ruse?

Enji began towards the north. Even if the winglie was out to release the god of destruction Enji would be waiting at the next signet. It would take time for the winglie, was he called Lloyd, to get to the next object and to clean up Enji's mess. While he was going north, he could go to the old training grounds. A walk through memory lane might be just what Enji needed right now.

As he started to leave out north, a man began walking with him. Enji turned towards the man and asked, "What's your name and why, prêt ell, are you going to the frozen north?"

The man gave Enji a strange sidelong glance and answered with measured words, "My name is my business as is my reason. Tell me your own and we will have something to talk about."

Enji gave him a roguish smile and said, "Now where's the fun in telling you my life story when yours is obviously more interesting? Why the secrets?" Enji wasn't expecting an answer. It would take a bit of probing to get his name. "Well, we're both going the same direction so why don't we travel together for the time being?"

The man raised an eyebrow at Enji and stated quite coldly, "How do you expect me to work with you when I don't know your name?"

Enji raised his eyebrows and chuckled, "You noticed that, eh? I haven't that much to hide unless you do. I'm Enji, a bounty hunter and thief. One day I may be hired to hunt myself down but I'm craftier than I think I am." Suddenly more serious he said, "I also have my own reasons for going north but that's why I won't bug you. We all have our own demons."

The man looked at the ground and stated, "The name is Davis, Davis Alistair. I am traveling to an old coliseum. I heard a few rumors that I wanted to clarify. Now that we know each other slightly, shall we go?"

Enji seemed a bit caught off guard. That was the name of a scholar during the first campaign and he had read it in a few different history books but that name was common in certain parts of the land considering the fame behind the first Davis Alistair. He was supposed to have been the one who had initially made peace with the winglies before they took over. A bad move that now left humans with no will for a peaceful solution. He had both made and destroyed peace on that day.

But this guy isn't the same one. He looked too young to have been around for that long. Even Enji only has an extended lifespan. The fact that he was a winglie made it longer but not immortal. That domain is one he hopes never to cross into. To live long enough to see everything as he knew it crumble and disappear seemed to be a fate worse than any death.

_It had already happened_, the evil new voice in his head chimed in. _That was from inaction_, he forced back. The voice was getting more powerful. It refused to cease. _Time changes all things whether you act or not, all things die,_ the voice asserted. _On that we agree_, Enji mused, _nothing lives forever and all things must come to an end._ At this point Enji remembered what his father used to say. No matter how big a ripple you cause it'll eventually come to a stop.

Davis seemed to have noticed Enji's minor mental struggle with himself and commented, "You shouldn't be traveling anywhere if you can't be decisive about it." It was right about now that Enji noticed this man had the same face as the one he had met so long ago. Same manner of speaking as well.

"Are you _the_ Davis Alistair?" this question threw the man for a loop, the man's black hair bounced into his face. He did have something to hide. The only question is how such a man was still so young and exuberant.

Davis merely walked down the path silently. He stopped after a few steps and asked Enji, "You are coming aren't you?" Enji followed silently and as they left earshot of the people back in the village he said, "How do you know me? Have we met before dragoon?"

That was the last term Enji was expecting to hear. How did this man know he was a dragoon? The stone in his glove was embedded in such a way where it could have just been a warrior's decoration. Many used to do this on the battle field as a taunt to their opponent as well as a battlefield ID. Soldiers counting the dead could tell if that was the soldier even if he had been torn to bits and burned.

"What did you call me, scholar? Dragoons disappeared after the first dragon campaign. What makes you think that they exist in the first place?" Enji wanted answers without giving away his hand. It was a delicate process with such a well learned man.

"Your questions," Davis informed, "tell all. You are indeed one. I've seen them and I know when someone is a dragoon." As he said this the gem in Enji's glove began to shine. Maybe it was Rose again. "That glow is a dead give away," he continued, "that they aren't completely dead. So, dragoon, how do we know each other?"

Enji was hesitant at first but realized that he couldn't have told this man anything he didn't already know. "You know me by my old name. You might remember a winglie by the name of Johi."

"Ah, yes, Melbu's friend. How is his plan going so far?" this statement was one of boredom but a spark of interest was in his eyes.

"You are the one who convinced him of that power hungry scheme?" Enji was ready to gut him right here. Before him lie the root of all the evil that tore his life apart. If the man said yes, he would be gutted and filleted like a fish after he told Enji how Melbu would do it and how to stop him.

The man gave a bloodthirsty smile and said, "Your anger is not wasted on me but I did not put him up to anything. He came to me looking for facts and I gave him my theories. He was the one initially looking for the power. I was merely looking for someone with the drive to change the world but I realized too late what he was. He was not the peacekeeper I sought. I want him just as dead as you, which is why I'm going to the old arena."

Enji laughed a chilling note, "I bring up my old name and you spill your life story. Isn't great how that works?"

"You give yourself way too much credit Johi," the man retorted. "It would take far too long for that but I will inform you that you are misinformed."

Enji tried not to bite his tongue clean off when he called him that. "I changed my name for a reason. My old life is behind me and I don't want to be connected to it any longer."

The man raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then why do you still wield a dragoon spirit?" When Enji failed to yield an answer, the man continued, "In any case, you have been convinced of lies. To clarify, Melbu has hijacked a barely alive body, the moon child lives, and he can become the god of destruction."

"How? I thought that only the moon child's soul would be accepted." This news shook Enji to the core. If a man like that got a hold of that much power…

"It's quite simple," Davis stated, "that if you switch places with the physical shell of the moon child then you could, in theory take its place. The only real difference between the two is that one will be entirely uncontrolled; the other would be a logically thinking being. Such a being could, in theory, bring about peace in all of the lands and races."

"So you wanted to play god? Do you know that that is what scientists have been doing?" attacked Enji. "What is with mortal beings and the incessant need to be able to explain and control all that goes on around them?"

"You're a mortal." Davis said matter-of-factly. "Why don't you tell me? I just wish to watch people survive. I stand back and watch as history is made and man slowly destroys himself and all those around him. I was a human once but now I see them as the reason we have war. The revolt was expected and necessary but the near eradication of the winglies was uncalled for. Once you have your rights, the only reason to fight is to preserve them."

"Well, scholar, some of us believe in preemptive strikes. You have to take care of them before they take care of you type stuff. The winglies were still hostile to the humans. They felt threatened and did the same thing you do when threatened by beasts, which is the impression they gave the humans with their brutality. You go out and wipe them out of existence."

_As is the lot of all_, the evil voice cut in. Why was it so persistent? It had no reason to do any of that. None of the other dragoons ever complained of this. The voice of a dragon that embodies death, forcing it's will into his head. He couldn't think alone. _That is because we are now one, child._ Clutching onto his head, which he knew did nothing, he mentally screamed. He knew it was true though, and not just in body. The dragon had also been outcast from its people, a monster because of what it would become. Enji remembered when he was first told what the lore said.

Tragedy and death follows the winglie with the red hair, hair that is stained with the blood he will shed. His father didn't like the wild road he was going down. Enji was so intent on proving his worth, living down the curse. The watch was to tell him when he had finished and done all he could.

Next thing he knew, Davis was in front of him, holding a sword, pointed at his neck. He also just realized he had changed forms. He didn't remember when but Davis then said, "Ah, so you are cursed in more than one way. You are not only the red winglie but are cursed with the darkest path of dragoon."

Enji's confused look forced Davis to elaborate, "Make peace with the voice in your head and your past and you shall gain immeasurable power for as long as you live."

"How can I make peace with _that_?" Enji argued, "All it ever talks about is that everything dies and that no matter what you do, it's pointless because they will still die. It makes it sound pointless to save the living."

Davis just smiled and said, "Make your peace with death, for we all must, sooner or later." Davis turned and kept walking, refusing to say anymore.


End file.
